It will also be the first time a US president has visited Angola, with which Biden has sought to shore up relations in recent years. As he hosted African leaders in Washington for a 2022 summit, Biden vowed to visit the continent the following year but ultimately missed that deadline. He scheduled a trip to Angola for this October, which was postponed due to a pair of devastating hurricanes hitting the US. The initiative is at the center of the Biden administration’s efforts to boost investment in Africa to blunt China’s growing influence in the region, which has outpaced that of the US. In an interview with The New York Times ahead of Biden’s visit to Angola, Lourenço said he is “ready to work” with Trump in the White House.

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